Money: Goldman’s political influence, Fannie Mae stocks still trading heavily despite low worth

New York Times finance reporter, Louise Story explains why Goldman Sachs is choosing not to put money into political advertising, despite the Supreme Court ruling that lessened restrictions. She also takes a closer look at why Fannie Mae stock, while worth little, is still trading heavily.

Goldman Sachs is saying that they will not take advantage of looser restrictions on political advertising. The firm, which already has a lot of influence via their employees personal donations and the number of Goldman employees who end up working in the government, posted a notice on their website announcing that they will not spend money on “electioneering communications.”

It wasn’t too long ago, Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac were on top of the world. In 2007, Fannie Mae stocks hovered around $85 a share. Now, their stocks can be bought for somewhere around 30 to 40 cents. That is to be expected though, with the housing bubble burst, and the economic collapse the country has suffered. However, it seems odd that stocks for both companies are being traded at exceedingly high rates.

Louise Story says this trading is partially due to the complete uncertainty of how the government will handle Fannie and Freddie and the possibility that both companies will become private again.